Gals Bein' Pals
by TheAmbiguousFool
Summary: The young Kim tries to make her move to get closer to Shego and get out of the friend-zone while Shego struggles with her moral compass to let that happen. KiGo-ish
1. Chapter 1

This is a short story that dates after "The Dream" but before "Worth It".

* * *

Drakken's lair crackled with electricity. Giant blue arcs jumped thunderously from node to node all around the Faraday cage. Only in between jolts could either Kim or Shego taunt each other clearly. Shego stood, not in her normal green and black catsuit this time, but instead, it was just a black, ribbed, tank top with tight black exercise shorts. Kim appreciated the exposed muscular arms and thighs, but she had a job to do. And this time, a new goal.

Shego suddenly flaunted giant metal claws, held her hands high beside her, and curled her fingers menacingly. The chatoyant weapon glimmered in blue and white as the flash of electrical current jumped around both of them. "Like my new outfit Princess?," she grinned wide.

Kim matched her grin with a suggestive smirk, "Electrifying." Kim pulled out something that looked similar to a taser gun but with a rectangular brick at the front and pointed it at Shego. She fired.

Immediately, Shego dodged effortlessly and that brick-like object embedded itself just behind Shego on the ground, "Geez, Kimmie, I never thought your aim was that bad. Are the claws _that_ intimidating?"

A muted chuckle, "On the contrary, Shego, I think they're _very_ attractive." She pressed a button on the gun and the brick hummed a moment just before Shego was thrown backwards, hands first, towards it. A surprised yelp was heard after another crackle around the cage and Shego was pinned to the floor as the claws clung to the electromagnet.

Kim went over to Shego with a celebratory grin and straddled her hips, "I'm going to kiss you now."

Shego was shocked at what she heard as she struggled to get free, "W-what?" A little quiver in her voice, "What did you say?"

"I said," she leaned close to her lips, "I'm going to kiss you now."

Kim parted her lips but Shego interrupted, "Are you up yet?"

The question confused her, "Huh?"

"You're gonna be late if you don't get ready soon. Kim?"

Further confused, "What?" Kim's eyes fluttered to the sound of her mother's voice.

"Kim, I gotta head to work. You've got about ten minutes before school. You better get going."

Kim rubbed her eyes and groaned into her pillow, "Okaaay!" _Damn it! Five more seconds! Couldn't give me five more seconds!?_ "I'm getting up!" The weight of her head felt immensely heavier having not woken up naturally. The effort to yell was a nuisance in of itself. Even though Kim was a morning person, waking up from that dream was far from desirable that morning.

Despite what Kim thought was enough to have her mother off to work, Dr. Mrs. Possible continued, "Okay good, I'm heading out. There's a roast in the fridge for dinner, your father and I are going to be late tonight. Don't eat junk food and make sure your brothers eat too."

"'Kay Mom, got it." _Yeah, because eating a couple pop-tarts after school is going to kill me._

"Love you, bye!"

"Bye!" _Uggghhhh!_

~oO0Oo~

Kim dumped her book bag on the couch after coming home from cheerleading practice. To say the least, she was ready to eat. "Tweebs! You home?" No answer came but two loud bangs were heard from the den. She spoke quietly to herself, "Yeah, they're home." She was actually relieved as she left them by themselves for only a smidge of time. They, too, had extracurricular activities that timed up well with Kim's schedule. She eyed the pop-tart box on the counter but opt to start pre-heating the oven for the roast instead. Her stomach grumbled at her, _It's just a pop-tart, it's no big._ She took out the manufactured sugar squares and began munching to her satisfaction. She went back to the couch and took out her assignments and started her studies while waiting for the oven to heat. Her Kimmunicator suddenly went off. An arched brow, "Hey Wade, what's the sitch?"

"Might want to get your battlesuit ready for this one Kim, Shego's out with Drakken stealing a military grade radio jammer and some top secret tech from a temporary storage facility downtown. I guess they were waiting for it to be in a less secure holding spot before deciding to steal it. All the guard's look they've been taken out by Shego. I'll get more details about that when I get them but this is out of the ordinary for Drakken."

She thought a moment, "Hmm, frequency jammers don't seem to be his style either. Ride?"

"Six minutes away heading towards Ron's house."

"Thanks Wade, you rock. I'll be there in three."

With his usual smile, "Wade out."

Kim balled her fists excitedly and did a silent dance. She rushed to her room to put on her suit and then she remembered, "Tweebs." She picked up her Kimmunicator and quickly dialed.

Monique picked up, "Hey Kim, what's-"

"HeyMoniqueINeedYourHelpCanYouComeOverAndBabysitTheTweebsIt'sReallyImportantAndI'llOweYouBigPleeeeeaaase!?"

"Woah! Slow down," she sighed after her brain caught up with what Kim said so rapidly, "Alright, fine, but this is seriously the last time. Your brothers set actual rockets off in the house! Nearly took my head off, girl! And then they threatened to put me in a vortex bubble. What even _is_ a vortex bubble?"

"IKnow!I'mSorryPleasePleasePlease!"

"Okay okay, I'll be right over but you're giving me deets on why you're so excited. Not to mention lunch at Café Mousse."

"OKAY, THANK YOU, BYE!" _Yes!_ She quickly got ready, wrote a quick note about the roast, and headed out. _Wait, she wants to know why I'm excited. Whatever, I'll think of something later. Eeee Shego time!_

~oO0Oo~

"KIM POSSIBLE!? AND THAT… guy I can never remember. Roy something something." Drakken spoke from behind a console.

To this day, still in disbelief, "Ron! IT'S RON! Not that hard! Come on!"

"Erm, whatever. Shego, get them!"

Shego dropped a large, heavy crate she was moving to the 'get-away-ship', "Yeah, 'cause I'm not doing anything important. Just lugging around a heavy ass crate of whatevers!"

"They're not 'whatevers', Shego, they're hyper oscil-"

Shego cut him off, and dragged her words long, "Don't caaare, Dr. D.!"

Drakken grumbled something along the lines of 'I explained all of this to you before' as Kim turned to Ron, "Ron, you think you can handle Drakken while I take down Shego?"

"You can count on me K. P." Ron said confidently as he tightly gripped his belt buckle.

Kim put herself in mission mode, "Really Shego, I'd think you would have given up on Drakken by now. With all your heavy lifting and hand holding, I can't help but think you put him down for naps too."

Drakken turned to Kim angrily, "Hey! I heard that!"

"She knows, Dr. D. THAT'S THE POINT! Gonna be honest, Kimmie, some days I gotta find his favorite jammies."

He waved his hands around embarrassingly, "Shego! Way too specific!"

"Just go handle the blonde, you've got those laser thingies."

He drove a pointed finger in the air, "Ah ha! Yes, that's right!" and gave his usual evil laughter.

Kim began to rush towards Shego from far across the room, "Shall we?"

Shego charged her hands and smiled. Not a grin like her usual, but a pleasant smile as if she just really needed to unwind. "Show me what you got!"

Kim and Shego danced in their usual brutal way - kicking, punching, grappling - but managed to engage in some conversation between blows. "Bad day?" It wasn't a taunt despite sounding as such. Kim was actually curious.

Shego swiped at her with her hands and followed through with a high kick, "Hasn't been the best. I think he's hormonal with his last failed project." She grumbled at the memory.

A back flip and a twirl. She sidestepped on some crates and leapt off towards Shego. Between her blows, she spoke in a way that only Shego could hear, "You can't reduce every bad behavior on just hormones, Shego. That's like him saying we're on our period when we have a legitimate reason to be upset about something." Kim retreated into a defensive stance and aimed to get farther away from Ron and Drakken.

Shego gave chase to get close to Kim and then stopped, "No… no, I literally mean, he was handling mutated hormones and he messed up. The guy hasn't been himself since. I'm just glad it's wearing off, but a hell of a lot longer than I wanted, though." A wheeled kick, a jab, and a backhand swipe.

"Oh. That kind of explains the whole…," Kim dodged the first two strikes that landed into storage crates but blocked the last, "Hey, kick me that way," she subtly pointed toward a large window that lead to the street outside, "I've got an idea." Shego raised a brow curiously. "Just do it." She shrugged and followed through and Kim went flying through it rather than near it. Shego briefly tightened her neck as she surprised herself with the intensity of her own kick. She didn't intend to kick her so hard.

She played it cool until she was entirely out of Drakken's view and then scampered along hurriedly. "Um, you're a lot lighter than the henchmen."

Kim held the arm that blocked the kick and tried not to wince from how painful it was. She shook some of the shattered glass from her face away, but remained on the ground. She grunted, "Hrmf, it's fine, the suit took most of the impact."

Shego extended her hand to help Kim up, "I'm-I didn't um, I just needed to-" It was clear that Shego wanted to apologize, but she just couldn't say the words. She's a villain after all and villains don't apologize. Then again, villains don't offer a helping hand either.

Kim took her hand, "It's fine, Shego." Shego lifted her to her feet. "You'd have to hit me a lot harder than that for me to give it a second thought, it's no big. Besides, you've kicked me harder without the suit." A brief moment to act tough in front of Shego felt silly but she wanted to impress.

"Feh, sure. Alright, what's this idea of yours?"

"I know this area, there should be a..." she looked around and immediately smiled, "this way."

Shego looked around as well, or rather, _she_ looked around for any authorities, "'Kay." She shrugged her eyebrows and followed Kim just around the corner to the back alley of an ice cream shop. She could still hear the subtle irritation Ron was giving Drakken and the petty retorts Ron gave. "And what will we be doing here?" she asked as Kim was standing around staring at the wall of the shop.

"Well, it's closed, but you know, it should still be alright if I pay for it, I just don't want to be seen by any cameras." The idea that she was committing a crime gave her anxiety, but she kept pushing the feeling down with the intent to pay.

Shego immediately blew a hole into an electrical box, "Oops?" She looked at Kim who was glaring at her as pieces of debris were still falling, "What? You're the one going to commit a breaking and entering."

"Don't… say that, I'm just… getting a well deserved victory treat. And like I said I'm going to pay for it… and apparently for damage to the electrical box too," she sighed, "Please don't blow anything else up?"

"First off, just blame me, Collateral damage, doy. Second, _victory_ huh?"

Kim smirked, "But of course, you owe me."

Shego leaned a hand on her hip and craned her neck, "For what? You 'won' the last fight."

"Shh, I'm going in," Kim used her suit to magnetically unlock a window and crawled in. Shego was unsure why she was shushed, but after a couple minutes passed, Kim was coming out again, "Hey, hold this."

Shego arched her brow and held the double scoop ice cream cone with Oreo and Strawberry, "So, you going to tell me why I owe you _anything_."

Kim smiled, "Yes. You are stressed and you need a treat. And that treat is on me."

Shego smiled at that, "Alright, I'll give you that, where's yours?"

"We'll share. I only had enough money on me for this." Kim lied. She lied so confidently it rolled off the tongue as natural as her desire to be with Shego.

"Oh…," Shego was surprised with Kim's suggestion and somewhat froze.

Kim realized it may not have been so proper to assume Shego was comfortable with sharing and became very nervous, "Un-unless, you don't want to. It-it's yours, really."

Shego blushed, "N-no, it's okay, I just thought that you-"

Kim started gaining a rising smile again, "I'm fine with it if you are." She looked at her a little more suggestively.

Shego began to relax a little, but wasn't sure entirely of Kim's look. She understood this relationship as a platonic one but that look wasn't making her so confident. She shook the thought away when she remembered the note on the mini-shampoo bottle she was given. It was from a fight they had almost a year ago and Kim had given her a bottle of her favorite scented shampoo to reconcile for something she had done to Shego. It was then that she realized there was more to Shego than just being a villain. The note said she 'wasn't her cupcake' and it made nothing beyond friendship very clear. _Kim isn't interested in that kind of relationship, she's too young for you anyway,_ Shego thought. She took a bite of the ice cream and passed it to Kim. She thought to continue a past conversation they had in their previous encounter, "How was your last exam?"

"Oh that? Aced it. I worried over nothing. I actually had to correct one of the questions since it asked an 'or' but the subject covered two topics." She took a nibble on the opposite side of Shego's bite, still unsure of Shego's comfort level, and passed it back.

"Haha, that's good. It's one thing when students think they know something and try to rub it in the teacher's face, but you actually know your stuff."

"That I do. How 'bout you, how've you been? You know, besides Drakken on monster hormones."

"Oh, um," she thought a minute and tried to think of something mildly engaging, "I added some more flowers to my garden last weekend. Nothing really interesting. They were pretty young, I'm not sure they were ready to transplant, but it didn't look like I was going to have time to plant them when they were ready. Now or never I guess." Another bite, a little closer to Kim's last one and passed it back.

Kim thought that was unexpected, "You have a garden?"

"What? Big green terror not a allowed to have a garden?"

"No no, just surprised. Besides, you are _not_ a terror," again another suggestive look, "What did you plant?"

 _What is with that look? Maybe she's tired._ "Some hydrangeas. Should go nicely with my chrysanthemums."

"Wow. It sounds beautiful. Think you could share a picture with me someday?" Kim kept her gaze on Shego's eyes as she took an overlapping bite, and once again, gave it back to Shego. Kim tried to read her face to see if it was okay to make such a daring move.

Shego was trying to read Kim's face as she answered and wondered why she was staring, "Oh," Shego's heart began quickening. It was Kim's gaze. Subtle but still suggestive. "Maybe I can take you there." Shego shocked herself, she had no intention of taking anyone to her secret gardens. But that look made her weak.

Kim hadn't looked away, her eyes locked to Shego's, or rather, she was lost in them. "I would really _really_ enjoy that."

They stared at each other a lot longer than they both realized and the ice cream began to melt in Shego's hand. She snapped out of her trance, "Uh-ah oh, gotta eat it." Shego lapped at the drippings.

Kim snapped out of it as well and lunged forward trying to save the ice cream from falling over with her tongue. Their faces only a short inch from each other until Shego bumped Kim's nose when she felt Kim's hands gently grasp her wrist. Kim was surprised by the chill on her nose, "Gah!" and stepped back.

"Oh uh, I didn't mean, I thought this was… Kim?" She stared at the woman in front of her with a dollop of cream on her little nose. "Kimmie, I'm, I thought you wanted to be friends."

Kim stepped forward with a careful smile, "We can be… but I don't-"

"K.P.! NEED A LITTLE HELP HERE. DID YOU TAKE CARE OF SHEGO!?" Ron shouted as loud as he could.

"HOLD STILL RALPH, THESE LASERS TAKE TIME TO CHARGE!"

"IT'S ROOOOON!"

"WHAT-EVER! AND STOP TOUCHING THINGS! YOU ALWAYS BREAK SOMETHING!"

"DOY! I'M TRYING TO BREAK THINGS! K. P.!?"

"BE THERE SOON, RON!" She started walking back to the storage facility. She turned to Shego who was following, "You can take the jammer if you leave the top secret tech behind. Sound fair?" Kim stopped to wipe her nose with one hand and outstretch the other for a handshake.

Shego reasoned, "You did get me ice cream." Kim smiled brightly. As she went to shake Kim's hand, "What were you going to say? You don't what?" Kim's smile turned more devious as she gripped Shego's arm tightly. "Wait, I know that look, Kim. That's _my_ look. Just tell me, you don't what?"

Kim, with the power of her suit, threw Shego into another window closer to Ron's and Drakken's direction. Kim released a breath she was holding, "I don't want to be 'just friends' anymore." Kim held her smile and pondered on whether she should repeat those words so Shego could hear. _Or maybe_ , she thought, _I'll tell her she wasn't nearly as heavy as the henchmen._

* * *

Minor update to the story. I added a bit more context to the "shampoo bottle" reference so there isn't as much disconnect if you hadn't read "The Dream" yet. I correct a couple spelling errors, but I'm not confident I caught them all. So, if you see any, please let me know. :)


	2. Chapter 2

Mr. Barkin spoke to a group of students in Kim's history class - rather incessantly - about how his generation gave their teachers more respect. Unfortunately, it was having the opposite effect on the rest of the class. Most of the class's time was spent lecturing on responsibilities, discipline, and respect than he had on actually teaching history. Kim began to dissociate, as did everyone else, and allowed her mind to drift. She seemed to always gravitate to one subject - Shego. It's been seven weeks since their last encounter and she wondered why Shego was tapering back on teasing and innuendos. Kim felt like she was stuck in the friend zone with no hope of pushing their relationship further. Something needed to change.

It wasn't until five minutes before the period was ending did it hit her. She facepalmed so hard it gave an audible 'clack'. Several students turned their heads to her with judgemental eyes. Kim chuckled bashfully, "Uhh, heh, a bug, yeah. Got it! I'm just going to go wash my hands now. Heh-heh." The students simply turned back around to watch the clock in front of the room pass painfully slow. Mr. Barkin was too busy lecturing to even notice Kim leave.

Kim entered a stall and sat. _The note. THE NOTE! Ugh, I wrote it before I knew I was interested in her. That was SO long ago. I must have looked like such an idiot to her. AND THEN I THREW HER INTO ANOTHER WINDOW JUST TO GET BACK AT HER! Way to go IDIOT! Nothing says 'let's start dating' like a body full of glass._ Kim buried her face in her hands. She huffed a sigh, _I didn't even apologize._

Kim's next period's bell rang through the halls. _Get through school, then find Shego… or wait til Shego strikes again to explain… or I should- school first Kim! Priorities!_

~oO0Oo~

Kim, in her bedroom, paced back and forth, and took glances at her Kimmunicator that was sitting on her desk. She considered asking Wade for help. She craned her neck one way, _Do it. You just want to get the jammers back, right? I mean, it's your duty._ Kim craned her neck the other way, _We made a deal, I get the tech, she gets the jammers. If Drakken uses them, Wade could always find some penetrable frequency. It's no big._ She looked straight ahead blankly, _but how do I reach her. Do I really wait? This is worse than a long distance relationship._ She ran her fingers through her hair, _What if I'm just 'unsuccessful' getting the jammers back? Or I could say I destroyed them? But Kim Possible gets them back. Because anything's possible… Anything's possible. Think. Think. Thi-_

"Kiiim! Dinner! Come down!" Tim yelled up from the bottom of the stairs as per his father's request.

"Okay! Be there in a sec!" _Food then more thinking._ As she was heading to the door, the Kimmunicator went off. Kim's eyes went large, _Please be Shego._ She answered, "Shego again?"

"Actually, it's Gill."

Kim screamed internally, _Damn it!_

"He's terrorizing the Middleton park, you may not even need a ride. He seems to be seeking revenge but it's unclear on who. It seems his attacks are directed at everyone. Reports are coming in saying that he's hurling large balls of goo and claiming no one wants to play with him. Seems kind of petty if you ask me. Local authorities don't want to get near him and have notified GJ to bring something to neutralize him. Only problem is, Gill keeps moving around and they need-"

"Someone to keep him distracted until GJ arrives."

"That's exactly right."

Kim sighed, " _How_ much of a terror? I just got called for dinner."

"Oh, uh, I mean, it _is_ pretty gross, Kim, maybe a couple minutes?"

She sighed yet again, "Okay, okay, I get it. I guess I'll wear a raincoat. I'll be there shortly."

"Sorry, Kim. I'll get Ron so you aren't alone."

"Thanks, Wade."

Kim sighed once more, turning more into a groan. _Any other villain would have been better than this!_ Kim ran down and told her family to watch the news, took a couple bites of dinner, and headed out.

~oO0Oo~

Kim took a breath in the shower, _Gross, gross, gross, gross, gross, gross._ She peeled off sticky green mucus off her hands, neck, and forearms. The elasticity and adhesive texture was only part of the problem. The smell was horrendous. Positively sickening. A combination of rotting roadkill and bile… was more inviting. Kim's mother spoke through the bathroom doorway, cracking open the door just a little, "Kimmie, honey, do you think you're going to eat tonight?"

Kim nearly puked from the thought, "No, Mom," she swallowed forcibly, "I'm… gonna pass."

"I understand, but please have a big breakfast tomorrow."

Kim swallowed again to stop her stomach from turning, "I-I will." The door to the bathroom shut. Eventually, thankfully, the smell was dissipating after several minutes of washing. Another rinse and she got out to dry herself. She wrapped herself in a robe and went back to her bedroom to think - and of course, more specifically - about Shego.

She was tired and frustrated from the day and it would be a little longer before her skin would stop crawling. Thoughts of Shego were supposed to help but, _Stop. Is this what you want? Do you want to chase someone you hardly see?_ Kim finally asked herself the important questions. _You're still in highschool. She's still a villain. How would you even work out a relationship? Really. It's time to stop fantasizing._ Kim felt defeated. _I was stupid to ever think this could work._ She turned to her pillow and allowed her tears to seep into it.

~oO0Oo~

The next morning Kim moped silently in front of her brothers who were already eating breakfast. Tim and Jim looked at each other, communicated in their own way, and finally asked, "Um, what's wrong, sis?"

Kim opened the refrigerator door to decide what she wanted for breakfast. She saw the carton of eggs and instantly felt ill. While still staring in, she somberly asked, "You tweebs gonna tell Mom I'm just eating pop tarts this morning?"

"Mm, not if you tell us what's wrong."

"You wouldn't understand." The fridge door shut and she began opening the box that sat on the counter.

Both Jim and Tim shouted together, "MOM!"

Her head swiftly turned towards them angrily, "Okay! Fine! Blackmailing twerps." They both grinned at her. "Why do you two even want to know?" They took a deep breath to shout again, but Kim stopped them by speaking quickly, "I'm crushing on someone that I shouldn't. Okay? This person is a little older than me, but we have so much in common. Our occupations are really conflicting, but sometimes that makes our rare encounters more exciting." She took a big bite from her pop tart and sat across the table with her brothers, "En shree ax like thish big meanie, but ish achully raully thoughthfol." She swallowed and her heart quickened at the realization that she used the word 'she'.

"So, he's like a big tough guy with a soft heart? What's the problem? Doesn't he like you?"

Kim was rather relieved her mouthful muffled her slip of tongue. "We're from two different worlds. I'm still in high school and… _he_ isn't."

"Did he drop out?" Both Jim and Tim snickered.

Kim eyed both of them, "Actually, he's really smart and he's even taught before. The _problem_ is that we'd have to give up something we're both dedicated to in order for us to work."

"I don't know, doesn't sound like you tried hard enough?"

"Yeah, what did _he_ think about it?"

"Well, I didn't really discuss it with-"

"Okay, and he _does_ like you, right?"

"Oh yeah, that's for sure, but-"

"So only a couple years apart?"

Kim not so confidently told them the truth, "Mmm, like… six or… … seven… and a half ye-"

"He sounds like a creep!"

"He isn't!"

"But the conflicting occupation seems trivial."

Kim was shocked, "How so?"

"You know Dan, down the street, his mom's a cop, but his dad's a lawyer, and _they_ still like each other."

"How exactly are _those_ conflicting occupations?"

"His mom puts away criminals, his dad gets them out."

Kim snorted, then she chuckled, then she released a hearty laugh. Jim and Tim looked at each other like she was crazy. "Guys," she said between laughs, "guys, that was the greatest thing ever. Thank you." Kim felt, surprisingly, better. She was about to leave but then she remembered she just had a conversation with her troublesome brothers who like to tell her parents about every incident in her life. _They want something._ "Alright you monsters, what do you want?"

"What ever do you mean dear sis?" A rising grin appeared on their faces.

"Cut the crap. What do you want in return for not telling Mom and Dad?"

"We need to borrow your grappling gun."

Kim was silent a moment. "That tool is very dangerous if used for anything besides its intended use. Not to mention it saves my life. Literally. Mom and Dad would kill me if you guys hurt yourself with it. And you guys may irritate me but I'd be really upset if anything happened to you, too."

"We'll be careful!"

"We're just testing the resistance of-"

"I mean it, if I let you have it, you need to be responsible. If you break it, you could lose your sister, permanently. Do you both understand?" They both nodded sincerely. "Alright, but if I need it, no excuses, you have to give it back and in _working_ order."

"We got it."

"Good, go," she thought a moment, "Wait, why didn't Mom come when you called earlier?"

"She left for work hours ago," they snickered.

"Argh! You little twerps!"

They smiled and ran off.

~oO0Oo~

Km returned to her room and got stuck on Shego again. _Shego's not a creep, right?_ What her brothers told her did bother her a little. Sure, she may have crudely and most definitely lewdly teased Kim in the past and given she was even younger then, it was certainly less appropriate. But, that was before they got to know each other better. It was just psychological warfare, she reasoned. Smart battle tactics. She's since used less innuendos and gotten better about talking about herself a bit more. In a way, Shego had 'matured' since the start of their official friendship.

 _What's the big deal? Who's to say we aren't already 'dating'. What's a date anyway? Just a means to find out more about the person you like and have fun. That's exactly what we're doing!_ Kim felt that she was really reaching with that logic. _It's no big! I can be in control here. I like her, she likes me. I can just go with the flow for now. Just… go with the flow. It doesn't have to be serious. I can finish school and think more about it later._ She pondered a moment. Really scrutinizing her thoughts more seriously. _Realistically, we can only be together in secret. Not ideal, but I know I'm not the only one who has secret relationships. Realistically,_ she emphasized, _I have no real way to contact her unless she does something illegal. Okay, that… that's a tough one. Maybe I can fix that with our next encounter. It's… fixable. And we should definitely communicate more. And if she doesn't want to, that's okay. But I won't know unless I try._ She felt she was making progress as little as it was, but there was still one big issue. _Okay, okay, realistically, she does things that are very illegal. She is, realistically, a criminal, that I, Kim Possible, must help put in prison._ This one hurt. She didn't like the things Shego did and she didn't like putting her in jail for it either. It was really the biggest thing that made everything so complicated. There's a limit to how many times they both could let each other go. One of their fights in the future is going to have to be serious from start to finish and one of them is going to have to lose. That was something they needed to discuss. _But that can be discussed later. I know she wants us to be more than friends. I know it… … I know it._

~oO0Oo~

Another month of Shego-less activity went by. Kim did her best not to stress about it as it _did_ take a while before the next big, devious plan would come to fruition. Then again, 'fruition' never happened with Kim around. This was normal and that was the only thing that kept Kim's mind at ease. She had more time to think about her communication problem and the best she could devise was a pen-pal type method. A plan that would require a known location between only the two of them and a time to pick up and drop off a note. She even giggled at the thought of each of their messages as love letters but she knew better.

In a study-hall, Kim didn't have any homework, essays, or exams to work on. She got up and told the teacher that she wanted to take a walk around the school. Given that she was a model student, a hero, and the simple fact that the name 'Possible' was synonymous with 'success', the teacher granted her wish without much of a thought. Kim gave a thanking smile, grabbed her bag, and headed out.

She took a slow stride around the school grounds and took in the colorful autumn leaves from the surrounding trees. A gentle breeze blew threw her hair that gave her a small chill. _If Shego were here, I could use her as a walking furnace_. She gently laughed at herself but the feeling was short lived. She very subtly groaned, _This would be a lot easier if I could date her like a normal person. How else am I supposed to figure out what I want. What we want. I just want to hold you to sleep, Shego. I've grappled you so many times and yet I still have no idea what it's like to hold you. Is that all I want from her? Stop asking, you know I don't know. Yet… I just don't know, YET._

~oO0Oo~

After school, after yet another week, Kim was in her room and took out an index card. She figured it won't be long before she would see Shego again and prepared her next step. She wrote as neatly as possible,

'Shego, I don't want to be friends.'

"Damn it," Kim whispered quietly. She took a black marker and went over the words and threw it in the trash. She took another index card and paused to think carefully and drafted the letter in her head.

'We should talk more because I like talking to you. However, getting away from allies is getting rather bothersome, not to mention suspicious. I have another letter for you. There's a tree line at my school's track. If you go to it, there's a tree with a dead limb just hanging at the top. In the hole near the roots is my next letter. By the time you read this, I've already told you the cipher. -K

Kim proofread the card several times, checking for spelling, legibility, and any hint that it might give away who it might be from or who it was meant for. Kim approved and folded the card several times and put it in her battlesuit's sleeve for the time being.

Kim had drafted and ciphered a letter a few days before she wrote her detailed note on the index card and stuffed it in the tree that night. She was all set. Now, she just had to play the waiting game for a bit longer.

~oO0Oo~

After three more false alarms, or rather, other missions requests, Shego finally struck again. This time it was a bank heist. "Really? A bank?"

Wade replied with a suggestion, "Maybe she was just bored? I'm not sure but police don't want to get near her as she's been throwing plasma at anyone who tries to swarm in. She's blackened all the windows, took out all the cameras, and no one knows if she's still there or if she's set traps."

"Is there a way in?"

"You can enter through a vent located here," Wade displayed a projection of the bank's building on her Kimmunicator and highlighted a tiny vent that Kim could fit through, "But, Shego twisted these entry points shut. You'll have to use the suit to cut through it. It's about a twenty foot drop, so be careful."

"No Drakken? Henchmen?"

"Seems like a solo job. Your ride should be right outside. I tried to get Ron, but he seems to be away from his phone."

"Oh, that's okay. I think I can handle this on my own. Thanks, Wade!"

~oO0Oo~

To Kim's surprise, the metal vent was actually quite thick and her suit could only cut so far. Once she completed a circle, she secured herself and began kicking at it. After several cautious kicks her patience grew thin and she drove her foot into it as hard as she could. It finally gave. A bit of a startle as her body went with her foot momentarily and the metal grating clattered loudly to the floor. She looked around and clung to the wall's decorative framing and recesses and used that to climb down. Still no sign of Shego. _Did she leave already? This was a wasted trip._

"Hey, Pumpkin." Shego stepped into view from around the corner and charged her hands while cracking her knuckles.

Kim went into hero mode and was readying herself to fight, but had to make sure of the situation, "Cameras?"

"Taken out."

"Audio?"

"None."

" _Friends?_ "

"Nope. You?"

"No." Kim smiled and relaxed a little more, "Bored?"

"Super bored."

 _Huh, I guess Wade was right. That at least makes this a little easier_ , Kim took out her note, "We'll be at each others throats in a sec. Read this after we're done, it's important," she handed the note to her, "Oh, and remember this, the answer is what you always call me."

"Huh?"

"You'll understand after you read it. Now then, now I have to kick your ass." Kim smiled playfully, but she meant every word.

Shego placed the note in her ankle pouch and returned with a smile of her own.

* * *

Please review if you can. Hate to beg but the feedback helps with my writing. Thanks.


	3. Chapter 3

Kim came out of the bank with a subtle limp and let the police know that Shego escaped. With careful explanation, and with her obvious injuries as evidence of a tough fight, she filed a report on what happened and how she got away. She let them know she inspected the bank and that it was safe to enter. It turned out Shego only took $130,000 worth of cash filled with dye packs. Shego wasn't stupid. She did it on purpose and couldn't care less of the money. She only wanted Kim. The hero finished speaking with all the officers while she was sitting on the back of an ambulance and then took a ride to the hospital to get checked out for any internal injuries. Mostly moderate cuts and bruises. No burns. Not a single singed mark on her body. Kim was sure nothing had been damaged, but her parents insisted on regular examinations after such extreme events.

When she checked herself out of the hospital she had a delicate smile across her face. She cracked her neck and headed home. Even though she came out sore, a little stiff in her joints, and extremely exhausted, she was thrilled to have seen Shego again. After all, she got to deliver her message.

Shego was recovering from severe bruising as well, although, much quicker than Kim could. Kim was actually worried the fight would be taken personally since she was giving it her all. To her relief, Shego said, "It was fun," and "See you around, Princess," as she left. It gave Kim some confidence that things were still okay between them. And, in retrospect, they shared more laughs trying to one-up each other than they had grimaced from pain. Their brawl was more like friendly sparring albeit far more dangerous with tight grappling and aimless throws.

Kim did carry some guilt with her when she went to fight Shego. Their interest in each other provoked Shego to commit more crimes and the icing on the cake was that Kim was happy for it. She hoped Shego would adopt the new communication method so Kim wouldn't be the root cause for a rise in crime. It wasn't just that, Kim alone caused a lot of property damage which had always been an issue with the local authorities and the city or town she was in. Her parents argued she was endangering herself for free and stopping villains that civilian tax money was supposed to cover. It was a controversial topic that local town governments were too embarrassed to pursue. The private organization that was _supposed_ to deal with super villains, Global Justice, had the specific issue of being mostly privately funded. Kim was free, GJ sent you a bill.

In a few days, Kim managed to swing by the tree again to see if her note had been taken. It was, to her satisfaction, gone. She did have a tinge of anxiety, though, that there could be a chance something else removed the letter. An animal or perhaps, something more worrying, another person. But the next thing to do was to check the next location for a reply in a couple more weeks. The duration she set would allow Shego time to decide whether or not she'd actually be open to communicating this way. Kim wanted to be patient and give Shego as much space as she needed. Given what she wrote, it may have been a necessity. Besides, all good things come to those who wait, right? RIGHT? The letter after deciphered - sans instructions for the next location - read,

'Hey, I know this is a little unusual and out of the way, but I couldn't think of anything better without letting someone else know - namely a certain boy genius. I hope you don't mind. Talking during our brawls presented a lot of challenges that I think this resolves.

Speaking of which, I don't think we should get away from our fights like we usually do. We should stop each other like we used to. We should take this seriously. Fight me. So long as we keep writing, I'll know it's not personal.

Anyway, how've you been? And I'm actually asking by the way, so no bullshit answers ;)

I can't really complain. You know, I'm in my senior year and I need to start thinking college. I would love to know if you have any recommendations. My father keeps pressing me to get into astronautics, but I really don't have the interest. My mother's been a little more open minded, but I can definitely tell she wants me to pursue a career as a neurosurgeon. Because those neuroscience journals just _fell_ into my backpack, right? I've already received several offer letters but I feel it's too soon to decide. I have something in mind, but I haven't committed to anything yet and I'd have to move pretty far away.

There's also been something on my mind lately. I want to clear the air about my apology note from a year ago - you probably don't remember - but when I said something along the lines of, 'I'm not your cupcake, but we can be friends', you can cross out the word 'NOT' and add the words 'MORE THAN' before 'FRIENDS' '

~oO0Oo~

What better way to spend the next two weeks than to spend it agonizing over what was written. And Kim did just that. It started out confidently with Kim laying out as bluntly as she could, 'more than friends'. Yes, that message was clear and she was rather happy to get that out - at first. But Shego hadn't teased her like she used to and it bothered Kim. Maybe it wasn't the note, _maybe she lost interest!_ As the week progressed she dwelled on it more and convinced herself it was a giant mistake.

 _I need to get that letter back!_ But it was clearly too late. _Another letter, I'll write another and say it was a stupid, teasing joke._ Kim shook her head at how silly the idea was. _Who am I kidding!? I'm screwed._ She moped, _I'm so screwed._ She closed her eyes, _Well, Kim, it was fun while it lasted, you big dummy._ A heavy sigh, _damn it._ Kim wore a subtle pout while drinking her soda at Bueno Nacho.

Ron approached the table that Kim sat at, "Hey KP, you seem a little, I dunno… Rufus, what would you say Kim looks like?"

Rufus climbed on top of the table, put his hand to his chin, and searched for the right words. "Uh huh, uh huh, yeah," Rufus pulled at the corners of his mouth with his hands downwards and fell backwards to play dead.

"Yeah, what he said. What's wrong KP?" Ron asked as he unraveled the packaging from his order as delicately as unwrapping fragile crystal.

"Hoooo, it's nothing," she could see Ron looking right through her poorly hidden lie. "Okay, it _might_ be something."

"Uh huh," Ron kept his eyes on Kim's as he took a large, messy bite of his naco.

"I just… I _may_ have said something I can't take back to someone I'm, that I ca-," Kim didn't want to let on she was crushing on someone. Their breakup may have been over a year ago, but she felt it awkward to talk to him about any new romance, "the person is important to me. And it's humiliating because if s-" she cleared her throat, "if that person isn't comfortable with what I said, then I-, it's-it's just embarrassing."

Ron was about to take another bite but stopped himself, "And this person is _not_ me, right?"

Kim was a little shocked he thought that she _could_ be talking about him. She thought about the abrupt break up, but again, that was so long ago. "N-no, Ron, I'm s-"

"Okay good! Because I had no idea what you were talking about. Anyway, it can't be that bad, Kim. Your situation sounds a lot like this naco."

 _Oh, here we go_ , Kim thought.

"Everything in this," he held it up and waved a gentle hand under it, "is an amazing masterpiece - if I do say so myself - and it's contained in a neat little pouch, but when you take a bite from it," he took a bite, "oomf, so good. Some pieshes," he munched a bit and swallowed, "some pieces fall apart. But it's okay, the pieces are still there, and they're still good. Do you see what I'm getting at, Kim? The pieces are still there to pick up, nothing was undone."

"So, am I the naco, or the pieces?"

He whined, "NOOOooo, KiiIiim, the naco is the _situation_."

"Oh…"

"Rufus, you get it, right buddy?"

Rufus was shoulder-deep in nachos and cheese. He waved an ambiguous hand, "Yeah, yeah," and continued to munch.

Ron sighed, "Kim, all I'm saying is, you couldn't have said anything so bad that you couldn't explain later. And if that person isn't accepting, than they aren't worth your time anyway. So, have a naco, it'll make you feel better."

"Maybe you're right," she took a bite of the cheesy meat-goo, but hadn't felt any better, "I'm sure it's nothing to worry about," she said as she continued to worry.

~oO0Oo~

Once again, Kim was back in her room, spread out on her bed, face down on her pillow with a small gap to breathe. She let out a heavy, frustrated sigh, _Why do I have to obsess! Gee, maybe because she's amazing and you don't want to lose her! Doy! There are OTHER people who are amazing and smart and beautiful and cunning and strong - come on! Yeah, except no one moves like her, smiles like her, fights like her, and you KNOW no one glows like her. Everyone else pales in comparison. RAGH! DAMAGE CONTROL, KIM!_ It was time to bounce back. _If she doesn't respond, it's no big, I'll meet up with her again. If she doesn't want to be more than friends, fine! It's her loss!_ Okay, this wasn't helping and she went back to following her gut, and to some extent, her heart. _She likes me. I know it. And she'll respond. She will._

~oO0Oo~

Shego deciphered the last sentence a third time and was still not believing it. She held the shampoo bottle from so long ago and stared at the note taped to it. She snorted into laughter, "You're my cupcake? Haha! YOU'RE MY CUPCAKE!" She scurried around her safe house looking for a pen or a marker, anything. "Fuck it," she laughed. She held her finger over the word 'NOT' and scorched it. _More than friends,_ she chuckled, _MORE THAN_ , her laughter was more audible. She suddenly panicked and swallowed hard, "Pumpkin?" Kim's suggestive stares seemed to have more context now. "You can't be serious." This was exactly what Shego wanted, but their age difference was smacking Shego hard in her moral compass. And yes, she definitely had one. _Maybe it's just a phase. She'll get tired of this and find someone good for her._ Shego placed the paper, face down, and noticed there was more written on the back. One final sentence that made Shego realize that Kim was not going to let this be a phase.

'I actually like it when you tease me. Tease me more.'

 _Oh Kimmie, what have I done?_ Truthfully, Shego never expected Kim to flirt back. It was fun to tease, to throw Kim off her game when they were brawling in their long past. And so what? If some of those teases and flirts had been sincere, she didn't expect Kim to reciprocate. It was enjoyable just to imagine. But now, the reality of it all, there needed to be a sense of responsibility.

And she was conflicted. She was conflicted because the best part of being 'evil' was the obvious _lack_ of taking responsibility. And now it was a necessity. _Kimmie, Kimmie, Kimmie._ Shego tensed, _I can't do this to you. I'm not good for you and I need to get you away from me. We can't do this._

* * *

Please let me know if it's entirely obvious this chapter looks forced. Feedback is welcome and thank you to those providing that feedback. Thank you to all for reading :)


	4. Chapter 4

Shego sauntered over to Kim who was cuffed to the gray walls of Drakken's lair and wore nothing more than a light blue hoodie and a pair of white panties. Kim had been squirming against the wall until she noticed Shego.

"Aww," Shego mock pouted, "Not comfy, Pumpkin?"

She craned her neck, "I have an itch that I need scratched," she said sternly.

Shego pleasantly smiled and spoke sweetly, "Well, I may be able to help with that. I may be evil but I'm not a monster. Is it here?" She scratched Kim's nose gently.

"Nuh uh," she shook her head subtly while maintaining eye contact.

"Here?" Shego traced a finger against her jawline.

"Mm mm, lower." Kim bit her lip. Shego began unzipping Kim's hoody slowly, baring her pale skin, but was interrupted with a whisper, "Shego… lower."

Shego briefly bit the side of her lip with a devious smile and slipped her fingers only as far as Kim's waistband. She looked very intently into Kim's eyes, "Princess?" Kim only nodded with a suggestive smile until-

"SHEGO!" Drakken's shrill voice came uproariously through the intercom in Shego's room and took her out of her fantasy entirely. She removed her fingers from between her legs and balled them into an angry fist. "SHEGO! WHERE ARE YOU? I NEED YOU THIS INSTANT!"

She pounded a fist on the intercom button, "ARGH! I'M BUSY!"

"Don't you be snippy with me! I've been trying to find you for hours!"

"EVER TRY CALLING THE PHONE!?"

"I uh YE- erm… no. I'll do that next time. Can you come to the lab?"

"In an hour."

"But I need you n-"

"I SAID IN AN HOUR!"

"Okay!'

The intercom clicked off and Shego let out a deep irritated sigh. She felt ashamed. Her stomach knotted and the guilt of her actions sickened her. _She's only seventeen you sick fuck. What the fuck is wrong with you?_ She sat up, _I didn't actually do it. I wouldn't. It's just a fantasy. It's a sick fantasy. She's only seventeen. Goddamn it, she acts so much older._ She balled her fists, _just stay away from her before you do something stupid. You're nothing but shit._ She cupped a hand to her eyes; angered and frustrated. She couldn't find someone else, she needed Kim to be just a little older. Only Kim. _Why does it have to be you?_

~oO0Oo~

After looking in the lab, Shego found Drakken in the lounge instead, "What is it Dr. D.? Can't find the coffee filters again?"

"No, the notes with arrows were very helpful. I have new henchmen that I got at a discount," he said with glee, "but they don't do anything," he frowned, "Watch," he turned to a few who were playing a card game, "Henchman George, front and center!" He waited a moment, "Henchman George!" The henchman merely rolled his eyes while the others snickered at Drakken. "You see, no discipline. None! I need you to erm… fix that."

"Fine. I'm guessing they need training too."

"Yes."

 _Yay more work,_ she sighed, "What did I say about buying henchmen at a discount?"

"Um, don't do it?"

"And!?"

"Let you handle it."

"Don't do it again or we'll have to renegotiate my contract. You do _not_ want to go down that road, Dr. D.."

"But the price was unbelievable!"

"No!"

"ALRIGHT FINE!" he pouted and folded his arms.

Shego turned to the henchmen, "All of you, GET UP!" None, of course, did and only encouraged more snickering, scoffing, and some laughed harder. She approached the three Drakken had looked at, "Which one of you is George?"

A sneer came from one of them, "You're lookin' at 'im, hot tits. You lookin' for some action? If you weren't so goddamn green, you might be a worthy bang. Maybe get a couple drinks in me and we'll talk, but I'd prefer if you didn't, if you catch my drift." The others laughed.

Shego smiled politely. The kind of smile that you, if you weren't a complete idiot, knew that this was the time to run. The smile that, if they had believed the stories about Shego that circled around, would have made you cower and beg for mercy. "Well, lucky for you George, I don't like to talk."

"Ha, is that so?"

"Yeah," she immediately grabbed his hair, slammed his head on the table, and held it there. "Everyone, listen up! George is going to need some time off for sustaining _work_ related injuries!"

"ARGH! W-what?" He squirmed trying to get free, "Bitch, what are you talking about? Get OFF!" he snarled.

Shego ignored his plea, "He has suffered severe burns to his neck and face," she slowly engulfed her hand in her glow. George began to wince which quickly escalated to agonizing screams. He wasn't understanding how, but he did understand there was no escape from the searing pain he was forced to endure. And yet, somehow, Shego was still able to talk over his thundering bellows, "You will be down a man, but if we work together, as a team, you can compensate for this loss!" She stopped her glow and allowed him to writhe in and shudder from the pain on the ground. "With my help, you will be strong, brave, and most importantly, disciplined men. I will train you and you _will_ obey. You will sustain _work_ related injuries, but you will be taken care of! We will put you back together again like new. But if you fail to obey me or Dr. Drakken, you will suffer worse _work_ related injuries. Do I make myself clear!?" Shego looked at the men completely shaken by the woman in front of them. "I am not patient and I only ask ONCE!"

All of them in unison, "Yes ma'am!"

"Good. Now let's thank George with a round of applause for his bravery and strength. Without him, we could not establish our strong, budding relationship today." Still in awe, only weak and awkward claps were heard. "Surely we can do better than that for our friend George! Or do I see anyone else with work related injuries!?" Applause suddenly became stronger and more appealing. "Excellent, let's get George to medical bay and start your training. I need two volunteers." No one raised a hand which caused her to narrow her eyes. Immediately all hands began to rise. "Good, you and you," she pointed to two random men, "What are your names?"

"V-vince."

"Richard."

"Wonderful, let's give another round of applause to Vince and Richard, our two new medical experts who will receive special medical training _very_ shortly." Applause came quickly this time. "That's what I like to hear! You two, pick him up and get him to medical bay quick! Can't you see he's been severely burned!?"

"Yes ma'am!"

"Right away!"

~oO0Oo~

A large portrait of Kim was projected against the wall in a room full of henchmen. At the two back exits were stationed two veteran henchmen who remained loyal. Their jobs were to ultimately prevent the new recruits from leaving.

Shego began, "Do any of you know who this is?" She waited for a hand to raise and one finally did, "Greg."

"It's that cheerleader teen that's been on those barely legal sites, right? Think she's a hero or somethin'." The crowd of men chuckled but was immediately silenced by a blast of plasma crashing against the back wall.

"I hope all of you begin to realize, I don't joke around here. This woman is known as Kim Possible and she's not _barely_ legal at all! She's a child prodigy who can disarm you and break every bone in your body without breaking a sweat. She works extremely well under pressure. In fact, as the stakes rise, there is a higher chance she'll succeed. _Respect_ her. Respect all your enemies. The moment you fail to give your enemy respect, _you_ will fail." Shego changed the slide to a security image of Kim about to land a punch into another henchman. "She can assess a situation and change tactics in a blink of an eye. She is the only one who could even be considered my equal." She gripped the podium in front of her and stared sternly at the men in front of her, " _NONE_ of you are even close to her skill, her speed, or her tactics."

Shego gave pause and looked around the room. She saw faces of disbelief that such a small 'girl' - in their eyes - could be so threatening. Shego turned off the projector and turned on the lights, "Let's get something straight, you work for Dr. Drakken. You are paid to do his bidding. If you run into Kim Possible, your job is to slow her down to the best of your ability. Those who are loyal will be compensated greatly. Those who aren't, your contract ends. I will train you and make you _capable_. At least for a little while. Are we clear?"

A few men murmured, others acknowledged with a 'yes ma'am', and a final handful were simply dumbstruck.

Shego approached the men who didn't quite get it, "Questions?"

"N-no," they nervously replied and tried to look away so that she would move along.

"It's fine, ask away. I'm here to educate." Shego relaxed her expression to be non-threatening, but after 'George', every expression she wore was not inviting.

"W-why don't we just, you know, kill her? We know what school she goes to from her uniform. She always gets in the way. Just… take her out when she's taking an exam or something. Right?" Shego's heart fluttered into her throat at the mere thought of Kim dead. But she quickly calmed herself.

Shego stood up straight and returned to the front of the room, "Jerry brought a very important question to my attention. Why not _kill_ Kim Possible!?

"Before any of you do anything as stupid as that suggestion, this information is already provided to you in the hench manual on page fifty-seven. Absolutely! No! Killing! Your job is to _slow_ Kim Possible down! You will _not_ engage in anything more than that! Tell me you follow!"

A resounding, "Yes Ma'am!" filled the room.

"Great! Now, for reasons you are not entitled, we will suffer consequences if there ever _is_ a death on our hands. But it will be NOTHING compared to what I will do to you! I repeat, Absolutely! No! Killing!

"Additionally, Kim Possible is only _one_ of many enemies. She has friends who work diligently to protect her. There are teams that resist us. Even civilians will try to be a hero. We will cover this tomorrow but you are to keep the following in mind, when you encounter Kim Possible, her motto is 'Anything's possible for a Possible'. These words have not failed her. These words motivate her and _should_ intimidate all of you! That's it, I'll see all of you in the training halls in three hours. Dismissed!"

~oO0Oo~

Shego retreated to her room in the lair. She sat in her bed and stared at a smiling image of Kim on her laptop. _Kimmie, I'm training a bunch of idiots to fight you. I'm sorry. I'm telling them everything. I'm-_ … She closed her eyes in mental anguish, _You don't care about her. You just want to fuck her. Just fuck her, you perverted FUCK!_

She closed her laptop and shoved it away, nearly pushing it over the edge of her bed. _Stop it. I don't want want to FUCK her… I do. But I want HER. I want her. Just stay away._

She thought about the best way to reject Kim. She couldn't actually bring herself to do something terrible to her. She needed to respond to her letter, to tell her not to chase someone so awful. Shego needed her, though, in her life. Without her, there was nothing left. She was the only person that stopped her from traveling closer to a darker place. A place where pain was no longer felt.

A friendship was the closest thing to a compromise, but ultimately anything further would be a terrible idea. _It is, isn't it? It is a bad idea. You're sick, you're vile, don't ruin her life._

~oO0Oo~

Everyone gathered in the training halls as Shego commanded. She projected a video, this time, of security footage of Kim in her black crop top and baggy cargo pants taking down a crowd of henchmen. She froze the video of Kim standing off with someone three times her size. "This is Vincent McLough. He weighs approximately two hundred and seventy five pounds. He exercises, he weight trains, and he is holding a stun baton. Let me show you what you're up against." She played the video. It showed Kim spin kicking the man in his side, but he hardly flinched. Shego paused the video as soon as the men in the room began chuckling. "Vincent felt exactly the same way as all of you do right now. He lost respect for the enemy. This is the weakest kick I have ever seen Kim do. Had it been me, I would have taken advantage of this, but Vincent let his guard down." Shego played more of the video. The next few moments was of Kim quickly taking the baton from her opponent and striking him in multiple areas around his body, focussing on Vincent's joints, with lightning speed. Vincent was subdued in a heartbeat. Shego ended the video.

"That's all it takes. She can tell if you're not focused. And the instant she feels odds are against her, she _will_ find a way to turn those odds in her favor. Vincent is okay, he was compensated, and he's here today. He will begin to tell you what loyalty earns you. Let's give him a round of applause!"

The crowded room gave forced applause while awestruck by what they just saw. Vincent stepped in and began a prepared speech while Shego exited back to her room.

~oO0Oo~

Shego's anxiety was building to levels she could no longer bear. Her self loathing was even worse. Every time she felt she could bring herself to write a letter, to push Kim back a little, she failed to come up with any words. She didn't want to lose her and the thought alone was doing a number on her mental stability.

The following day she saw her psychiatrist, Dr. Mallory Shrinkner, a trusted doctor among villains with no bias towards good or evil. Her position was to help no matter who they were. Shego had been seeing Mallory on and off for many years as she'd been a victim of several traumatic events in her childhood and her time as a career villainess. There were many things Shego did that she wasn't proud of and there were many times she was targeted by very bad people. The times she was caught still give her nightmares.

Mid-session, Shego was asked an important question that left her a bit speechless. Dr. Shrinkner didn't pressure her to answer. She simply sat in her tufted leather chair, patiently waiting. After a few short moments, she did feel the need to encourage a response, "You don't have to answer, Shego, but it's something you should think about. To question honestly."

 _Do I love her?_ Shego repeated the question in her head. _Isn't it wrong?_ "Isn't it wrong? She's only-"

"She, whoever she is, is only seventeen. That detail did not escape me," she calmly smiled at her patient, "There's two things we should discuss, one is the importance of the woman you have an intimate attachment and your overall moral compass." Shego tried to object, but Dr. Shrinkner cut her off before she could, "This woman is still developing, both mentally and physically, and this development will continue up until her mid twenties. Shego, even you may not be fully matured. This is not an insult, it's simply human growth.

"Shego, I can't give you relationship advice, but I can give you some bullet points. Nearly an eight year age gap is not that large but seventeen _is_ a young age. I would recommend avoiding any intercourse or any coaxing towards that direction. You have an influence and because it concerns you, you should take responsibility, but you don't need to avoid her - unless that's what you want."

Shego contemplated deeply on what she said, "Am I sick?"

"Keep it a fantasy and you aren't hurting anyone. Which brings me to my next item I wish to discuss. You never shared a concern for something you hadn't actually done before. Are you considering giving up villainy? Or a better question, would you give up villainy for the woman you're interested in?" She saw Shego cringe subtly at these questions, "I present these questions rhetorically. It's something that may help answer my earlier question. It's important to find closure in what you discover. But, I have to ask, how long have you felt this way about this woman?"

Shego closed her eyes a moment, "Thanks doc, I'll transfer the funds as usual." Shego got up and headed to the door.

This had not been the first time Shego had dodged a question so abruptly. It would be much later when she would open up. Dr. Shrinkner knew enough to give her time and not force it out of her and offered some advice, "One last thing before you go, Shego." Shego stopped to listen. "You're going to have to let her know who you are, too. Start small." Shego closed the door behind her as she left.

~oO0Oo~

Back to training the untrainable, Shego guided her 'troops' through an obstacle course. _Get them in shape, get them prepared, get them working as a team._ These were Shego's priorities.

"MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!" Shego shouted out to the men. They were each carrying a sandbag, tripping over themselves, exhausted. One even threw up. "Pathetic! Kim can do three times what you're carrying and faster!"

One whimpered while trying to catch his breath, "It's impo- it's fucking impossible."

"What did you say!?" Shego approached him angrily.

"I'm-I'm s-sorry. I-I didn't mean it. I can keep…," the man feared being burned but he couldn't talk any more. Even three feet away from his face, Shego was still too close for comfort.

"What did you just say?"

He swallowed hard, "I said… It's impossible, b-b-but I didn't mean it!"

"Give me your bag."

"Oh god, please!"

"The bag!" He whimpered and slowly gave her the sack of sand. "You three," she pointed at three men who were shocked to be called upon, "Bags, hand them over." They did, cautiously. Shego carried all four bags weighing close to two hundred pounds all together. She carried them to the beginning of the course, two bags on each shoulder. "Jerry! Stand here!"

"Yes Ma'am!" He hurried to where she pointed.

Shego carefully reached for her stop watch without dropping the bags and started the clock. She handed the watch to Jerry. "The clock is ticking right now! If any of you can beat my time, we're done for the day! But if _all_ of you fail, you do it two more times! I guarantee you, Kim Possible is capable! Understand!?"

"Yes Ma'am!" came from all.

Shego sprinted through the course, going through a tire path, dragging sand bags under a crawl course, hoisting and tossing them over a wall, through un-even stepping stones, hurdles, a high terrace, and carried quickly through waist deep mud. "Time!?" she cried out while crossing the finish line.

Jerry stumbled a bit, amazed by her speed, strength and skill. Before he even shouted the time back, he knew very well everyone was going to be doing the course three times from this moment. "Eigh-EIGHT MINUTES FIFTY SEVEN SECONDS!" What was far more amazing was the fact she hadn't started running until after the clock had already began ticking.

"Carl, Richard, Harry, Ray, retrieve your bags! Everyone, get back at the start. I'm feeling unusually kind today, let's make the time to beat ten minutes even!"

~oO0Oo~

The daylight was nearly gone. And the second round after falling to beat Shego's challenge was almost complete. All of their muscles ached and all of them were ready to collapse. Each regretted the day they decided to hench for money. 'Big money!', 'No real work!', HenchCo advertised, '$10,000 _JUST_ for signing up!'

One remained who just couldn't move through the mud. He was ready to simply sink and die. He no longer cared, until, "Jack! I see your potential, Jack! You've got this!" The group of men were shocked by Shego's encouragement.

He grit his teeth and took a few struggling breaths, "I-I can't!" He wailed.

"You can do this! One step. Give me one step!" He hesitated a moment weighing if death was as welcoming as he thought. He groaned loudly, struggling against the mud. One foot moved forward. "Give me another! You've got this! One step! All it takes is one!" He wailed again, but with good progress. "Jack, keep it up! You're right there, go for it!" Jack screamed as he was breaking free from the mud and crossed the finish line. He collapsed immediately and breathed heavily. Shego knelt down to him, "Jack, you did great." She stood up again and addressed the stunned henches around her, "I will root for each and every one of you. You have a long road ahead of you, but I will do it with you!" She looked around, she saw them finally grasping the idea of loyalty to her. "Medics! Get Jack to sick bay! Rest of you, dinner time!"

A more confident and loud, "Yes Ma'am!" echoed in the air."

~oO0Oo~

In front of her laptop again, Shego was planning the next heist. Drakken was being more careful after Shego threatened contract re-negotiations. Unfortunately, this meant Shego was put in charge of everything. She was also conflicted. She kept finding holes in her plan. Then again, she put them there for Kim. _Damn it, damn it, damn it! Why does it have to be you? I swear, if anyone hurts you._ Frustration occupied her thoughts. _No one touches Kimmie but me! Argh! Damn it, this is too obvious!_ She looked over her plan again and again. _If she takes out my guys here, we can go… damn it! Still too close to them. Argh! She said fight her. We have to fight. If I fight her, she'll be safe. I have to manage- Motherfucking goddamn it!_ She took a moment to calm herself. _Kim, what are we?_ Shego buried her head in her hands and sighed heavily. Her thoughts were unfocused.

Her phone rang. It was Drakken. She sighed again but picked up anyway, "Yah?"

"There's erm, an issue, yes, with the bank. So there might be a delay with your pay. Could you still-"

"No. Read the contract. No pay. No worky. Sort it out."

"But it's not my f-"

"Don't care. Take care of it."

"But-"

"BYE!"

"SHEG-" Shego hung up.

 _Good, that gives me time._ Suddenly Dr. Shrinkner's question rang in her head, ' _Do you feel you love her?'_ Shego refused to answer despite a tiny voice telling her the truth. She tried to convince herself, _I don't really know her._ She paused. _I know almost everything about her and I love_ \- she stopped. _I LIKE most of her interests, her independence…_ She attempted to silence those thoughts again, having gone through this internal speech before. She pounded a fist against the wall behind her, "Grow up!"

She remembered Kim's letter asking to tease her more. Shego scoffed. She had yet to reply. Maybe talking to her wouldn't be so bad. She wouldn't need to push her away completely, but maybe, keep her at arm's length. Shego, as much as she wanted to protect Kim from her perverse life, also didn't want to risk losing her.

Only a little less than a week left before she had to deliver a letter of her own at Kim's specified location. She opened a new document on her laptop and then stopped herself. _Not here._

~oO0Oo~

Shego traveled to a safehouse she owned off grid and began drafting her first letter to Kim,

'Hey'

"Shit." Absolutely nothing came to mind. Correction, Shego wanted to tell Kim everything about herself. How she felt, who she really is, and what she really thinks of Kim. Fear consumed her, it prevented her from writing. She felt utterly stupid for wanting to share her feelings as if Kim would ever think less of her for doing so. Shego couldn't think of a way to describe herself without it sounding completely pathetic, incriminating, or, inversely, cocky. _I can't do this._ She picked up Kim's letter and re-read it. _She's serious._ She tried again and started off casual… friendly,

'Hey, my genius of a boss forgot to pay me, so I'm on vacation until he figures out how to add more zeroes to my accounts. :) Nifty little method you have here. And by the way, I call you more things than just "Princess," Princess. Had me doing a chore trying to figure out which salt you used. Not that I mind, it was fun.

So, Cupcake, when will you be free. You want some more ice cream drippings from my '

"Goddamn it, could you be more of a predator? She said tease, not be gross. Arm's length, dumbass." She eliminated the last line,

'So, Cupcake, how are your bruises? I hope I didn't hurt you too bad in our last bout of fun. I don't think we've gone at each other like that in a long while. I've noticed you've gotten a lot stronger, or should I blame that on your suit?

Seriously, if that suit were any tighter, I might die from a nosebleed.'

"PREDATOR! What's wrong with you!?" Her psychiatrist's words echoed, _avoid coaxing her sexually_. Again, she removed the last line,

'If you're up for it, I'll go head to head with you without my glow. No powers, no suit, deal?

Great news about the offer letters, it's no surprise though. Don't accept any offer without a full scholarship. Read the fine print, too. A few universities tried to swindle me just to get my name. It's all they care about if you're "famous." Full scholarship, Cupcake, don't back down.'

Shego hesitated a moment and thought that this might be a good way to warn Kim.

'You wanted to know how I am. I won't bullshit you. I'm conflicted. I've been training new henchmen. I've been training them to specifically fight you. Next time we meet, they're going to try to swarm you in waves. By the time I'm done with them, they're going to be more organized.'

Shego couldn't write any more and thought to simply cipher the message now and be done with it. She kept thinking of Kim getting overwhelmed by the number of henchmen going after her. Waiting patiently, as she instructed them, lurking until the final moment before attacking. The way Shego was training them, Kim would be alive, but never the same. She added another line,

'It's a trap. Don't come. Just don't.'

Shego ciphered it. It wasn't long before she stuffed it away where she was asked to. _I really hope you get the message, Pumpkin._

~oO0Oo~

Three months passed and it was finally time to act. Shego's accounts were growing again as per contractual agreement. And, in that time, she finished the Hench's basic training.

Shego leaned against a railing behind Drakken and waited for him to give the order to move.

"SHEGO!" Drakken yelled from the top of his lungs.

Shego flinched, "WHAT!? Why are you yelling!?" Shego absolutely hated that abrupt and startling voice of his.

"Oh! You're right here. Sorry. Is-is em, everything ready?" he asked more gently with hands clasped and raised to his chin.

She sighed, "Yes, the team's ready. Let's go."

All henchmen were loaded into the carrier ship. They knew the basic fighting tactics, they knew to be patient, and most importantly, they knew to respect their enemy. Drakken was going to hijack major internet exchange points using the high tech interference jammers he stole in long months past. It wasn't his original plan, but he had to make do with the tech he was able to obtain.

The plan was to block internet traffic. He'd never be able to destroy the internet. But block it? Hold it hostage? Oh, yes, that he could do. Henchmen and Shego would take care of security using brute force - physically and technologically. Drakken would then begin applying his acquired jammers to all server nodes. He'd have a portion of the world in his hands. After all, who could live without their precious social media?

* * *

One chapter remains. I do hope you like it so far - please let me know either way :)


	5. Chapter 5

Thirteen hours after taking control of one of the internet exchange nodes and there was no sign of Kim. _This is good_ , Shego thought. She spoke in her two way radio, "Check in." Shego closed her eyes and waited for each team to report back. One by one they reported an 'All Clear' to Shego's relief. The building was secured with henchmen on every floor of the low-rise building. "Good. I'll do another check-in in six hours, keep radio silence unless you run into trouble. Team leader out." She pocketed her radio and went to work.

First of three jammers were installed and ready. Drakken and Shego were working furiously to get everything connected. The equipment was heavy to move and the sweat in their hands made it difficult to work with the flimsy wiring. Despite air conditioning blowing right on them, the servers ran hot and Drakken had poked his fingers so often that blood had trickled onto various connectors. He cleaned his hands and connectors so often it became rhythmic. Splice, divide, clamp, wipe connector, wipe hands, connect, repeat. "Almost done, almost done!" he said as he tossed another wipe to the side.

Annoyed with his muttering again, "Dr. D, for the last time, tell me _only_ when you're done."

"Feh! I was telling myself. You're just eavesdropping!"

"Yeah, _continue_ to keep telling yourself that. My end is done, I'm getting started on the third."

Offended, "This isn't a race, _Shego_."

"Actually, it kind of is. We need to lock everything down fast. We have another, what, ten hours before we're done? And, that's if we keep up this pace without sleeping." Drakken only grumbled his reply. "Yeah, so, starting on the next one."

For the next several hours, Shego worked on multiple panels in the tiny confines of the internet jammer. Her thoughts lingered on Kim as her task became more repetitive, mundane, brainless. Thoughts of her henchmen overwhelming Kim invaded her mind. Seeing Kim in her mind's eye getting trampled, kicked, beaten, caused Shego's breathing to become increasingly erratic until she finally snapped herself out of it. She took a moment to calm herself. _She's not here and she isn't going to be. Not today._ Shego really didn't know why she worried about Kim more that day than any other time Kim threw herself in danger's way. Perhaps it was the discovery of Kim's mutual interest. Maybe it was the number of henchmen at her command. Or maybe it was the henchmen's loyalty she hadn't seen before. Somehow, that discount purchase had been the best investment Drakken had ever made, but she'd never admit that. She went back to work and pushed her worries down.

Another hour passed before Shego heard something concerning. She heard her radio click several times briefly. Shego took a breath and thought it might be a good idea to confirm. "Check in."

"Team one, all clear."

"Team two, all clear."

…

"Team four, all clear."

"STOP! Team three, check in." _Check in you assholes, check in._ Shego was met with silence. "Team one, six, eight, go to team three's location NOW!"

"Moving to target."

Shego was hoping it was just a malfunction or an accident. _Tell me you were jacking off, left your post, something, anything!_

"It's her, she's here."

 _Fuck! Why Princess?_ "Ev-" she cleared her throat, doing her best to hesitate without notice. Any bit of time to give to Kim. "EVERYONE, MOVE IN!" She immediately hated herself for giving the order. _I'm sorry Kim, I have to._ Those earlier invasive thoughts suddenly became more real to her. _Get your shit together. You're evil. Get Drakken and go!_

She reached Drakken, "We gotta move. You almost done? Either abort or go faster. We can launch with two."

"I thought of that! Nothing is working!"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm getting errors, my-my internet block is getting... internet blocked!"

"Has to be that nerdlinger friend of Kim's. Move your ass, we're leaving." Shego picked up her radio and demanded, "Where's Kim!?"

One of her henchmen held the button to speak back but hesitated. Sounds of the fight was coming through faintly. Kim could be heard grunting and struggling followed by a strange sound Shego couldn't identify. Her henchman finally spoke, "Th-this is team four, sh-she has some kind of-" It went dead.

"Some kind of what!?" Nothing. She turned back to Drakken, "Damn it, I'll slow her down, get the ship ready." Shego went down the halls to meet up with the henchmen, or more precisely, with Kim. It wasn't clear if Kim was winning, it seemed impossible. She didn't hear her fighting as she was getting closer and closer to the last known location and the silence was worrying her. She quickened her pace, _Be okay you stubborn little-_

"Miss me?" Kim dashed into view and winked with a bit of a pant from just across the way. Her suit's pant leg and hip was moderately torn that exposed fresh bruising from what seemed to be one of the henchmen's stun baton. Her chest heaved with every exhausted breath but the smile on her face showed her excitement.

A wave of relief… of disbelief, washed over Shego. "Pumpkin?"

"I'm disappointed, Shego," a breath, "Now I have to teach you not to underestimate me," she grinned wide having seen Shego was actually worried about her. "I will admit, they were a lot better than your last batch. But this," she pointed a rectangular device, held like a shotgun, at Shego, "made things a little easier." She fired a round. A hyper-sticky substance flung Shego's hand to the wall.

"Ah!"

Another round fired, this time at Shego's foot

"HEY!"

Kim walked over to her, "I'm going to ki-"

"K. P. I GOT HIM! I GOT DRAKKEN! I LOVE THESE WEAPONS WADE MADE!" Ron was extremely hyped over the new devices. Ron and Rufus wore matching sunglasses to make themselves feel cooler as Ron flashed his weapon around.

"Great! I got Shego. GJ will be here in an hour to pick them up." She subtly looked to Shego, warning her of their arrival.

"BOOYAH!"

Kim mouthed words out of Ron's view, 'Just use your glow.' She turned back to Ron, "Ron, run down the other side and see if there's any more hench guys. I'll check down here."

Ron cocked his gun, "Can do!" and ran off.

Kim put her hand on Shego's calf that caused her to raise her brows. Kim slipped a piece of paper with instructions of where and when to find the next letter into Shego's ankle pouch. She gave her leg an extra squeeze with a smile. She brushed Shego's hair behind her ear and leaned in close, "I just turned eighteen by the way." Kim turned around, allowing her strawberry scented hair to cross Shego's face, and headed down the hall with a smile. Kim had a very subtle limp but she was otherwise fine.

Shego was astounded. Goosebumps covered her skin. With her glow she could have ripped her foot and hand free just fine, but her brain came to a screeching halt. It took her a full minute to snap out of it. She scoffed and melted through the goo, _You're making things very interesting, Cupcake._ Now she had to decide whether to free Drakken or go on another vacation.

~oO0Oo~

After nearly a week, Shego picked up another one of Kim's letters. The wait had driven her mad. She began reading,

'Thank you for the warning. But you forget, I'm usually not alone. You may want to make it harder next time. It was too bad we couldn't fight. Then again, I wouldn't have been much of a challenge for you anyway. It was a long flight to get there and Ron wanted to talk the whole way. To say the least, I was tired.

So, were you really worried about me? Or did you just not want me to interfere? =)'

Shego stopped reading a moment to laugh at Kim's little jab. She sipped at her gin as a warm breeze blew. She was sitting on a stone bench facing a fountain near her gardens. She imagined Kim sitting next to her. She imagined her pouting after being told 'no' to trying her drink. She laughed at the thought of Kim spitting it out after she persisted enough for a sip. When the gust of wind stopped, she resumed reading,

'I hope you didn't mind my little squeeze. I was going to do something a little more daring, but I got nervous. Maybe I'll let you lead that one.'

"Kimmie, you're adorable."

'And my bruises were no big. You've done far worse and looked like I had YOU limping a little. As for your little challenge, I don't mind not wearing my suit, but you might still want to use your powers.'

Shego chuckled, "Sure Princess, keep dreamin'."

'I kid, of course, but I think a friendly spar would be nice. I learned some new grappling moves I've been meaning to show you and not so much in front of anyone else.'

"Umm," Shego took another sip of her gin while not quite sure how to take what Kim said. She continued,

'I know I said we shouldn't get away from our fights, but let's take it away one more time. Next time I get called in, if it's you, I'll make sure to go it alone. Try to pick a nice area.'

"What are you up to? Hmm?" Shego was surprised Kim was being so forward. It seemed she was almost accepting, if not encouraging, her villainous ways. _Really hope I'm not driving you down a dark path, Kim._

'One last thing. I've been keeping this bottled up inside me for a long time. I just need to get this out in the open to you. I think you're special and just really needed you to know that.'

Those words stuck out. It didn't hit Shego right away. She thought the words didn't need to be held back. Nothing more than a compliment, right? It began to sink in. It was sincere admiration. _What could she possibly see in me?_ It was personal and the words meant something deeper. She put the letter down and again saw there was more on the back, "Goddamn it, I keep forgetting the back." A quick decipher,

'I think you're sexy too.'

Shego sat up immediately after reading the words. "I'm going to need a lot more gin."

~oO0Oo~

Shego, now drunk, yet still quite lucid, brought out paper and a pen. She placed her drink down, hard, on the stone bench she was sitting on. Her back hunched and her hair fell to the sides as she leaned on her forearms to write her reply,

'No no, sexy is what YOU are. I'm like super. I'm fuckin Every time I see you, you're there just adorable and hot. You are You're You're so adorable and hot. I wish you were with me right now, running your hands through my hair and my EVERYTHING.'

Shego couldn't stop laughing at her own writing. Droopy eyed and snickering, she continued,

'I want you. I want to peel your bodysuit right off of you and devour you. I'd fuck suck the skin off you of you. You drive me crazy. And I want to talk to you. I want to tell you everything. But if you knew who I am, what I've done, you'd hate me. They were bad though. They hurt me. They deserved worse what I did to them they to me. I don't deserve you.'

She wiped an offending tear that clouded her vision,

'You should get as far away from me as possible. I'm disgusting and if you knew what I've done, if you knew how despicable I am, money all for the fucking money, you'd never be able to look at me again.'

She wiped her eyes with more frustration as if they were purposefully blurring just to get in her way,

'But all I want to do is look into your eyes and keep looking. I shutter shudder I don't want you to stop looking at me. And when you smile. I don't deserve your beautiful, angelic smile. You make me feel like a alive person. I'm a stain. You make me feel whole. You think make me think we can be hold hands But I'd tear rip you apart and drag my hands you down. I'd make you just like me and it hurts. It hurts so much. So, you have to stay away from me. Stay away.'

She sniffed hard so she could continue,

'You deserve someone who can fight with you. Carry you. Someone who could lift you. It'll hurt, every part of me will break again, but I'll be so happy for you. So long as I can continue just looking. So beautiful. So amazing. So pure. I wish I was good like you. I wish I wasn't broken damaged.'

She held her pen firmly on the paper until it broke and laughed through her tears. She crumpled the paper and set it aflame in her hands. A tortured groan, "Stay away. I'm not what you deserve." She hugged her knees and sobbed.

~oO0Oo~

Shego eventually found her way to her doctor's office. Dr. Mallory Shrinkner looked at Shego with sympathetic concern. Shego's eyes were bloodshot and tearful and she hadn't spoken a word since she sat down minutes ago. Shego was maintaining her breathing so she wouldn't start sobbing again, but Mallory needed her to talk, "Shego, you know how this works. I can't help unless you tell me what's happened and the guessing game doesn't benefit either of us." Shego cringed and took a deep breath. "Alright, alright. We'll do this slow," she said calmly, "I'm going to guess this might have something to do with you and your mystery woman from the last time we spoke." Shego slouched in her chair, brought a slow hand to her brow, and subtly nodded. Having her psychiatrist speak was helping her relax. Mallory asked, "Are you angry with her?" Shego cringed again and shook her head 'no'. "Alright, did she seem resistant to being close to you?"

Wrong guesses lead her to tense up after she shook her head 'no'. Sensing this, Mallory didn't wish to continue as her following questions may lead to more wrong guesses. "How about we try some breathing exercises." Shego gave her an offending look. "Please, just humor me, Shego." She pursed her lips and waited for Mallory to continue. "Thank you. Now, close your eyes and imagine you're in front of a pond." Shego rolled her glassy eyes to a close and complied. "Imagine the pond completely still and breath in slowly."

Shego took a slow deep breath, but before Mallory could give the next instruction, she sighed with irritation and finally spoke, "She thinks I'm special."

"Can you tell me-"

"She called me sexy. I didn't instigate it. I swear I didn't." Her voice sounded sore but not quite hoarse.

"Okay."

"I want her. Sexually. I'm a _fucking_ creep. I'm nothing but filth. I don't know how to get her away from me. She deserves someone better. But, I don't want her away from me. I want _her_." Shego became tense again and stared at the floor.

Dr. Mallory looked to her seriously, "Shego, when you came into my office, what did you expect to accomplish by being here?"

A little appalled by the question, "What?"

"I don't make people 'happy', I help people help themselves. I can prescribe you medication to assist-"

"They don't work!"

"Alright, fine. But my point Shego, is that you know the answers already. In rare cases, I do offer my opinion. So, _off_ the record, my opinion is that she'd be good for you."

"And how would you know? I didn't tell you anything about her."

"You told me enough to put the pieces together. I may not be a detective, but the only person that could be so troublesome, from the many times you spoke of her before, and yet _worthy_ of the admiration you give her is of one particular… hero." Shego crossed her arms and slouched further in her seat. "Everything in this room is absolutely secure. I'm not here to out anyone."

"I don't care about that," she paused, "I'm not good for her. That's my problem."

"Don't be so sure. I trust her judgement."

"She's eighteen."

Mallory addressed this issue, "When we spoke last time, I wasn't sure who you were referring to. Your mystery love interest was indeed a mystery… partially. I had my suspicions, but it was wiser not to assume. It was _wiser_ to advise you about an average teen's mind. Don't get me wrong Shego, her brain, like yours, is still developing. But her, you, are not average people. To put it in her words, both of you are special."

"But I want her sexually."

"It appears she shares a mutual feeling."

"Are you saying it's okay, just because she's eighteen?"

Mallory lightly glared with a hint of a smile, "My concern the last we spoke was that you would be pursuing a possible relationship with someone who may not have had the same mutual interests; the same level of maturity. A person who may have thought that pursuing you sexually and _only_ sexually was what _you_ wanted. She would have been compromising and neglecting her own needs while insulting yours based solely on physical attraction. Teasing, innuendos, and the like would have reinforced this train of thought. Because you didn't tell me about this person fully, I could only advise based on certain characteristics. Kim, I believe, is not your average teen despite her saying so. Mind you, now, that my analysis has been isolated to her public appearances and of course what you've told me of her. But there's more to this than I think you are aware. Have you thought about anything beyond sexual desire?"

"We're almost a generation apart." Mallory softly glared at her again and tilted her head to the side for not receiving an appropriate answer. Shego folded and gave her her answer, "We have a lot in common and she's fun. I like her, but I don't… I don't want to rub off on her."

"So don't. Shego, your actions aren't compulsory. Far from it. And if anything, maybe she'll rub off on you. You seem to want her to."

"I'm a bad person." Shego could not shake this thought about herself.

"We're skipping around some topics we should discuss, but I fear that as soon I focus on them, you'll leave again. It will help if you allow me to address them."

"Fine. What?"

"Do you want to be a villain?" Mallory knew the truth, but Shego needed to stop lying to herself.

Shego was silent a moment and shifted in her seat. Mallory allowed the time to pass before Shego spoke again, "I want to do whatever I want. As a villainess, I can."

"Can you teach?"

Shego frowned as it hit her, "I think we're good, doc." What she _wanted_ to say was, 'Fuck you!' and that's exactly what Mallory heard.

"I won't press, Shego, you know that. My job is to remove thorns and splinters. Sometimes it hurts the more I pull. We don't need to talk about this today. Perhaps another time when you're more comfortable. But for the reason you came here today, my advice is to talk to her," she paused for Shego to acknowledge. When she did, she continued, "Is there anything else I can do for you?" She was left in deep thought, but eventually she shook her head 'no'. "Let me know how it goes. I'd like to know how this develops," Mallory smirked.

~oO0Oo~

Shego stretched her legs on the roof of the building. A museum of art close enough to middleton that she wouldn't have to wait long for Kim to arrive. She took one last look at the building's blueprints before stuffing it back in her ankle pouch along with her lock picks. After flipping a few switches to force the security cameras to loop the same still scene, she secured a harness to the floor of the roof and plunged from the ceiling window. She went down only enough for her head to clear the opening and stuck anchors on the ceiling to get herself to a desired painting. She hung upside down in front of it and used plasma from her fingertips to cut out the artwork around the edges of the frame. She rolled it up, stuffed it under her harm - careful not to crush it, and traveled back to the open window. She flipped a switch to return the cameras back to a live feed, spun slowly, grinning at all them, and blasted them. The alarms set off, lights flashed, and it wasn't long before the cacophony of distant sirens were heard; all of Shego's favorite songs. Shego drew the shape of an arrow on the roof with the rope cord and pointed it to a distant alleyway. Covered by shadow, she waited.

Kim arrived sooner than she expected. Only twenty minutes by helicopter. Kim stood in the creeping moonlit end of the alley and smiled, "Think you can lose everyone but still get to the docks?"

Just hearing her voice again made Shego happy, "Only if you think you can keep up," she grinned.

"I'll catch you, don't you worry, I always do."

Shego got up, "I'll try to make it fun for everyone." Her hands lit up and she dashed to the roof tops. Kim immediately took chase. Shego shot plasma at Kim, close, but not direct, to gain attention from police. They were, after all, supposed to be enemies. Shego was leading Kim to a bridge where they would redirect their route to throw off the police. After several roof tops, "Get ready Kimmie, this one's tricky."

Shego leapt right off a high building onto crane that lead to the ground safely. Kim took a deep breath and leapt as hard as she could, just making the edge. Her heart was pounding and she couldn't help laugh at the thrill. The height alone was dizzying.

"Come on Princess, don't stop now." Kim smirked and sprinted towards her down the crane. She landed on the ground with a roll and was catching up to Shego again. Shego took a right down a tunnel under the bridge which had several openings, but only one lead to the docks. Shego exited the tunnel with Kim right behind and sealed the door with her plasma. "They'll be going in circles for a while. Now, let's play." Shego was still thinking she'd be fighting Kim.

Kim only smiled and stopped to catch her breath. She chuckled lightly and walked past Shego and gave her shoulder a light squeeze. Kim looked in her eyes, "I missed you."

~oO The End Oo~

* * *

So, I just discovered that FF destroyed some of the formatting I had for the letters that Kim and Shego wrote. They are supposed to be indented with justified alignment so it would be very easy to identify letter versus conversation. Maybe it's not a big deal, but I'm all about presentation. And strikethroughs, for Shego's letter, are apparently NOT supported. So, there was supposed to be some stuff that was meant to be "scribbled out" by Shego, but I had no way of showing you. So rule of thumb, until I can figure out a better way to communicate this, if it isn't coherent, Shego scribbled it out. Sigh. HEAVY SIGH.

Aside from that, I'm hoping this leads into "Worth It" well enough. I'll be working on my sequel to JALV until November. I'll be re-revising my XMas story for December. Then I seriously hope I have my sequel ready by January.

Thank you for reading and thank you to those who've been leaving reviews (not just comments). They mean a lot to me - - and I'll let my narcissism slip out a bit - - I enjoy the attention :)

I'm going to leave this story incomplete while I take in the reviews, do another revision, and then seal the deal. Thanks again!


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